Former Chief Justice David Maraga has announced that his 2027 presidential campaign will rely on public donations, branding it a “Wanjiku-funded” movement aimed at ending the culture of money-driven politics in Kenya.

Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Tuesday, Maraga said the cost of seeking elective office has become a major barrier for ordinary Kenyans, especially women and youth, and accused the political elite of using wealth to buy votes and entrench themselves in power.

“One of the things I’m going to focus on is the electoral process in this country. When you demand or you make it so expensive, young people, our youths, will never get to elective positions. Our ladies, many of them, with very few resources, will never get to electoral positions. And that is not the way it is supposed to be. No, it is the way it has been made. People come in, steal your money, use it, buy your votes, and go to steal more. We want to change that. We will change that so that money doesn’t count in the elections,” he said.

While acknowledging that campaigns need money, Maraga made it clear he would not engage in vote-buying and insisted that Kenyans themselves will help fund his bid for State House. He said plans are already underway to draft a campaign budget, although he did not disclose the projected figure.

“Yes, it is being worked on. The details are being worked on. We will require quite a substantial amount of money. I won’t tell now, but people are working on the likely budget,” he said.

Maraga is confident that citizens across the country will contribute, noting that some have already expressed eagerness to support the campaign financially.

“I’m convinced we are going to appeal to Kenyans to contribute to our campaign, and it’s going to succeed. The Kenyans will themselves fund this election, and once we are funded and get elected, you can rest assured that anybody trying to twist us or do anything, we’ll tell him, ‘Look, this is a Wanjiku-funded presidency’,” he said.

He added that his own personal contribution will be minimal.

“Very little. I mean, one, two million shillings. I don’t have much money,” he said.

Pressed on what would happen if public donations fall short, Maraga said he does not expect that to happen.

“It is not going to be there. Let me tell you that the people we’re talking to, some we are meeting, saying, ‘Look, when are you setting up the paybill? We are going to pay.’ We are not asking for a lot of money from foreign individuals. We will leave it open,” he said.

He believes Kenyans will donate even the smallest amounts to back the campaign.

“With the suffering the Kenyans have gone through, I can assure you that getting Sh10, Sh20, Sh50, and Sh100 from individuals will come in. And I can assure you, from the assurances we have been given from across the country, we are going to, in fact, if anything, we are hoping to get in excess. And my view is that once we get excess, whatever will be left, we’ll give it to a public cause,” he said.

Maraga further promised to publicly release his campaign budget once it is finalized.

He also took aim at politicians who run so-called empowerment programs that involve handing out cash to voters, calling it a short-term and deceptive strategy.

“My view is that, look, don’t go dishing out money to people when you are supposed to revamp the economy so that these people can earn their own money. I mean, you give them Sh1,000, Sh2,000. I don’t even know how much is being given. How long does it last with them? What we want our Kenyans to know is that they should not be bought. They should not be given a few hundred shillings, a few thousand on the eve of the election, and they vote wrong people,” he said.

He blamed President William Ruto’s administration for failing to address key economic and governance issues and said Kenya’s situation had worsened since the last election.

“He promised young people that upon the completion of their education, he would work on their employment. The employment opportunities are shrinking by the day because of the mismanagement of the economy and political affairs. As I said earlier, it has made businesses close down and some of them move to other countries,” he said.

Maraga also criticized the education sector, pointing to lack of policy direction and poor implementation of reforms, especially in the junior secondary transition.

“Look at the education. We have policies. I mean, there is no clear policy on education, right from child development to universities. There have been several commissions that have been set up. Some of them have come up with very good recommendations. Those recommendations should be translated into policies. Those policies are lacking, so there’s total confusion,” he said.

“You had, for example, transition from primary to junior secondary with no facilities, with no infrastructure at all. And what the parents are left with is to see what they can do, and find that the teachers themselves are not trained or are not prepared for that. So it is chaos,” he added.

He pledged to work with professionals and cut political interference in public service management.

“I’m listening to Kenyans, professionals, and what they are saying is they are not being allowed to run. Education is being interfered with left, right and centre. Even the recruitment of teachers is being interfered with from the State House, and as a result, some of the officers are disillusioned. I am going to have a team. I’m going to have officers who are competent in their respective areas and allow them to work,” he said.

Maraga concluded by saying that restoring the rule of law and constitutional order would be a top priority under his leadership.

“One of my major pillars is resetting the country back to constitutionalism. We have one of the best constitutions in the world, with elaborate provisions on literally every aspect of our lives. When it comes to human rights, we have an elaborate Bill of Rights. Demonstrations, what we sometimes call picketing, is there in the Constitution,” he said.